Add-on immobilisers are available for older cars or vehicles that do not come equipped with factory immobilisers. The insurance approval for a self-arming immobiliser is known as "Thatcham 2" after the Motor Insurance Repair Research Centre in Thatcham, England. Approved immobilisers must intercept at least two circuits; typically the low-voltage ignition circuit and the fuel pump circuit. Some may also intercept the low-current starter motor circuit from the key switch to the relay.
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Licences for Vehicle Immobilisers are valid for one year. Armed guarding and guarding with a weapon are illegal.
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The majority of vehicles are stolen by opportunistic thieves relying on finding older vehicles that have ineffective security or none at all. Honda was the first motorcycle manufacturer to include immobilisers on its products in the 1990s. In September 2007, a Transport Canada regulation mandated the installation of engine immobilisers in all new lightweight vehicles and trucks manufactured in Canada.
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Numerous vulnerabilities have been found in the immobilisers designed to protect modern cars from theft. Many vehicle immobilisers use the Megamos-chip, which has been proven to be crackable. The Megamos transponder is one of many different transponders found in today's immobiliser systems and also comes in many different versions. Hacking of an immobiliser in the real world would be performed on the vehicle, not on the key.
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Key fob of a first-generation immobiliser Immobiliser sign An immobiliser or immobilizer is an electronic security device fitted to a motor vehicle that prevents the engine from running unless the correct key (transponder or smart key) is present. This prevents the vehicle from being "hot wired" after entry has been achieved and thus reduces motor vehicle theft. Research shows that the uniform application of immobilisers reduced the rate of car theft by 40%.
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Statistics in Australia show that three out of four vehicle thefts are older cars stolen for joyriding, transport, or to commit another crime. Immobilisers are fitted to around 45% of all cars in Australia, but account for only 7% of those cars that are stolen. In many instances where a vehicle fitted with an immobiliser has been stolen, the thief had access to the original key. Only around one in four stolen vehicles are stolen by professional thieves.
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As a requirement of the Private Security Industry Act 2001, the UK now requires all contract security officers to have a valid Security Industry Authority license. The licence must be displayed when on duty, although a dispensation may be granted for store detectives, bodyguards and others who need to operate without being identified as a security guard. This dispensation is not available to Vehicle Immobilisers. Licenses are valid for three years and require the holders to undergo formal training, and are also to pass mandatory Criminal Records Bureau checks.
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However, he dropped legal proceedings in November 2014, allowing the city of Nice and the developers to begin work. The underground car park had been completed by the middle of 2016 and it was anticipated at that time that the renovation of the former train shed would be completed by 2017 with other facilities expected to open during the second quarter of 2018. The project won the Pyramide d'or, the highest award of the Fédération des Promoters Immobilisers in 2016. In March 2018, during ongoing redevelopment work, the main hall was temporarily opened to the public to house an exhibition by the Salon du Vintage.
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Immobilisers have been mandatory in all new cars sold in Germany since 1 January 1998, in the United Kingdom since 1 October 1998, in Finland since 1998, in Australia since 2001 and in Canada since 2007. Early models used a static code in the ignition key (or key fob) which was recognised by an RFID loop around the lock barrel and checked against the vehicle's engine control unit (ECU) for a match. If the code is unrecognised, the ECU will not allow fuel to flow and ignition to take place. Later models use rolling codes or advanced cryptography to defeat copying of the code from the key or ECU.
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Motorcycles and older cars, which often have a carbureted engine and a single ignition coil and distributor, can be hot-wired from the engine bay. Using standard lock picking to start a vehicle is now usually ineffective, since most cars now use immobilisers or transponder key verification. Conversely, most types of motorcycles are often easier to hot-wire, especially scooters and older naked bikes, which lack advanced security features beyond mechanical locks and conventional ignition switch. Thieves lacking the basic mechanical skills and knowledge of automotive electrical systems sometimes simply use physical force to bypass the ignition lock, smashing the key mechanism to reveal the rotation switch, which is operated by the key's tumbler.
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In Canada, all ten provinces follow a consistent set of national criteria issued by Transport Canada for specific equipment required as part of a street-legal vehicle. In some provinces, the Highway Traffic Act is a matter of provincial jurisdiction; provinces with such an Act include Ontario, Manitoba, and Newfoundland and Labrador. Many but not all U.S.-model vehicles do qualify for import to Canada, but must meet requirements for items such as daytime running lights (standard on Canadian-market vehicles since 1991, but not required in the U.S.), anti-theft immobilisers, and anchorage points for child seats.The Registrar of Imported Vehicles, a private company under contract by Transport Canada, provides some information on which US-model vehicles are or can be made street-legal in Canada.
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